UPSC tweak fails to end row

OUR BUREAU

New Delhi, Aug. 5: The government’s suggestion to tweak the format for drawing up the UPSC prelims merit list led to chaos in Parliament today as Opposition parties stuck to their demand to scrap the controversial civil services aptitude test (CSAT).

The row rocked both Houses, less than three weeks before the preliminary test scheduled for August 24.

The government had yesterday proposed that the scores of candidates in the 20-mark compulsory English-language comprehension test in the CSAT would not count while drawing up the preliminary test merit list.

In the Rajya Sabha, the Samajwadi Party and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti echoed the demand of students to scrap the aptitude test. The DMK and the CPM demanded question papers in all the 22 scheduled languages.

Trinamul’s Derek O’Brien, who has given a notice for a discussion, said the government’s proposal was a “knee-jerk” reaction. Congress leader Pramod Tiwary said a joint parliamentary committee should be set up to suggest remedial measures.

The upper House is likely to hold a debate tomorrow. Congress, Samajwadi and AAP MPs raised the matter in the Lok Sabha.